WrestleMania XXV
WrestleMania XXV (or The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania or WrestleMania 25), was the twenty-fifth yearly WrestleMania professional wrestling Pay-per-view produced by World Wrestling Entertainment and took place on April 5, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.[2][3] It was the second WrestleMania held in the state of Texas, with the first being WrestleMania X-Seven, at the Reliant Astrodome, also in Houston, which was held in 2001. The tagline for the event was "Everything is bigger in Texas, especially WrestleMania." "Cowboy" by Kid Rock was used in the first promotional advertisement for the event.[3] While WWE calls it the 25th Anniversary, it is only the 24th anniversary as WrestleMania I cannot be an anniversary of itself.
WrestleMania XXV | ||||
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Tagline(s) | Everything Is Bigger in Texas, Especially WrestleMania The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania (in late-2008) | |||
Theme song(s) | "Shoot to Thrill" (Live) and "War Machine" by AC/DC[1] | |||
Information | ||||
Promotion | World Wrestling Entertainment | |||
Brand (s) | Raw SmackDown ECW | |||
Date | April 5, 2009 | |||
Attendance | 72,744 | |||
Venue | Reliant Stadium | |||
City | Houston, Texas | |||
Pay-per-view chronology | ||||
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WrestleMania chronology | ||||
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Production
It was announced on January 30, 2009 that "War Machine" and "Shoot to Thrill", both by AC/DC, would be the theme songs for WrestleMania.[1]
Background
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Since 1993, the winner of the yearly Royal Rumble match at the event of the PPV has won the opportunity to wrestle for a World Championship at WrestleMania.[4] The only Royal Rumble winners since 1993 that did not wrestle for a championship at WrestleMania are Steve Austin in 1997,[5][6] and Vince McMahon in 1999.[7][8] Randy Orton won the match in 2009 and will wrestle for a championship at WrestleMania XXV.[9]
On the February 16 edition of Raw, Shawn Michaels challenged John "Bradshaw" Layfield to a match the following week for the right to face Undertaker at WrestleMania.[10] Shawn won this match but was then forced to face Vladimir Kozlov for the right to face Undertaker at WrestleMania.[11] Shawn won this match and will face The Undertaker at WrestleMania.
Money in the Bank (MITB) qualifying matches started on the February 23, 2009 edition of Raw with a triple threat match CM Punk versus John Morrison versus The Miz. CM Punk won the match and is the first of eight men to be added to the Money in the Bank ladder match.[11] The following week on Raw, another triple threat match between Rey Mysterio, Kane and Mike Knox with the winner of this match qualifying for (winning his way into) the MITB ladder match. Kane won this match and as a result will be in the ladder match.
Results
WrestleMania XXV Media
John Cena, seen here making his entrance at WrestleMania 25, challenged Edge and Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Brothers Jeff (left) and Matt Hardy (right) engaged in a rivalry before WrestleMania.
Ric Flair with Mickey Rourke at WrestleMania 25
Wrestlers fighting on the ladder as part of the Money in the Bank ladder match
Kid Rock (center) performed while Divas made their way to the ring for a battle royal.
Rey Mysterio, dressed as The Joker for WrestleMania, faced JBL for the Intercontinental Championship.
The Undertaker, after defeating Shawn Michaels to extend his undefeated WrestleMania streak to 17–0
Triple H after retaining the WWE Championship against Randy Orton
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Rockin' to the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania with AC/DC". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2009-01-30. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
- ↑ Dale Plummer (2008-03-31). "Mayweather, Orton survive Mania; Edge, Flair don't". Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kid Rock (2008-04-13). "WWE's Wrestlemania Theme Song". Kid Rock. Archived from the original on 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
- ↑ Cohen, Eric (2007-04-25). "The Fate of the Royal Rumble Winner". About.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
- ↑ "Stone Cold (spot No. 5) wins the Royal Rumble Match". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ↑ "WrestleMania 13 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2008-03-31. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ↑ "Mr. McMahon (spot No. 2) wins the Royal Rumble Match". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ↑ "WrestleMania 15 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2008-03-29. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ↑ Tello, Craig (2009-01-25). "Detroit "RKO" City". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
- ↑ Sitterson, Aubrey (2009-02-16). "Game changer". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Sitterson, Aubrey (2009-02-23). ""Legacy" gets hammered". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
- ↑ Plummer, Dale (2009-04-06). "Wrestlemania 25: HBK-Undertaker steals the show". SLAM! Sports - Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
- ↑ Burdick, Michael (2009-04-05). "Brothers united". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
- ↑ Rote, Andrew. "Results:Twice as nice for CM Punk". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
- ↑ Plummer, Dale (2009-04-06). "Wrestlemania 25: HBK-Undertaker steals the show". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
- ↑ Raymond, Katie A. "Results:Say hello to my twin sister". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
- ↑ Vermillion, James. "Results:Rourke, Flair laugh in the face of defeat". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
- ↑ Tello, Craig. "Results:Matt: The better Hardy?". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
- ↑ McAvennie, Mike. "Results:Rey fast, JBL furious". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
- ↑ Adkins, Greg. "Results:Vaunted: Deadman Alive". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
- ↑ Passero, Mitch. "Results:Cena reclaims his gold". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
- ↑ Sitterson, Aubrey. "Results:The Legacy Killer". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.